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Congressmen support restrictions on news helicopters

Three congressmen from the San Fernando Valley say helicopters, including those used by TV news stations, need to be more strictly regulated.

They said as much to a House of Representatives panel Thursday in response to residents' complaints about low-flying helicopters and the noise they make, according to the Burbank Leader.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Van Nuys) has been pushing for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Aviation Subcommittee to take up the issue for months.

At the panel, he cited “Carmageddon” and other events as attracting nearly nonstop helicopter noise as news channels ramped up coverage of the 405 Freeway closure earlier this year.

“Helicopters were flying over people’s houses with reckless abandon to view the freeway,” Berman testified. “Never have my constituents seen such a heavy volume of helicopter traffic over their homes.”

He was joined by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).

They favor adopting greater restrictions on flight paths and minimum altitudes for helicopters in county airspace.

Emergency flights and military operations would be exempt from the Los Angeles Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act, which would be implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration.